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Mike,
I understand you point of view! This happens down
here as well!!
George (down under)
Dave,
George may not be aware of the Social
Security frauds we have. I had a friend who was a doctor's assistant for an
orthopedic surgeon. The stories he told made me so mad I couldn't see
straight.
Guys on disability who would whine and
complain that they couldn't work due to severe back pain. Docs would load them
up with prescription pain killers, paid by insurance. Same guys would
have calloused hands and nice suntans... been running a cash-only lawn service
company on the side. A couple of these low-lifes got caught on video and
lost their benefits.
I agree that a pilot, especially a
commercial pilot cannot be on disability and still be well enough to fly for
hire. The situation on the medical is plenty clear. You give false info and
get caught, you will be in trouble. Mike C.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 11:00
PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: FAA - we're
here to help you
George, that is a bunch of BS!! If you are so disabled that you
are completely unable to contribute to society and hold down a job, then you
are too disabled to be flying a plane, especially with a commercial
rating. Are these people "DISABLED" or not. I mean really, if
your mental or other disorder means you just can't show up to work each day,
then I don't want you flying over my house. Lets face it. These
people are scam artists, living off the rest of us who put in our 60 hrs/wk.
...I'm so crazy I can't show up to work so you all must pay me, but I
seem to do fine flying passengers around the sky...
Dave Leonard
On 7/20/05, George
Lendich <lendich@optusnet.com.au>
wrote:
Kevin,
Being on a Disability pension don't stop you
flying a plane. It may make it harder to get a medical clearance and you
won't get a clearance if your on Medication, such as mind bending drugs
e.g. Pilots with past Depression and Bipolar can get Medicals -
Paranoid Schizophrenia is only controlled by mind bending drugs, so
that one's a NO NO!
One must be upfront with the details however - some
have suggested that it's easier to lie than get a medical with past
medical conditions. I notice a lot of chaps losing their medicals for
Diabetes and Blood Pressure etc.
However you can still drive a car and fly Light
Sport Category.
George ( down under)
Saw this in today's _New York Times_.
July 20, 2005
U.S.
Says 46 Pilots Lied to Obtain Their Licenses
By CAROLYN
MARSHALL
SAN FRANCISCO, July 19 - Prosecutors in Northern California
have
charged 46 pilots with lying to federal authorities to obtain
airplane
licenses, in most cases not disclosing debilitating
illnesses that
should have kept them grounded.
The pilots, who
were indicted this week by grand juries in the eastern
and northern
federal districts of California, were identified during
an 18-month
criminal air traffic safety investigation by the
Department of
Transportation and the Social Security Administration
that looked
into licensed pilots who were also receiving disability
benefits and
payments from the government.
The investigation, initiated in
July 2003, included a review of more
than 40,000 pilot licenses
issued in Northern California to determine
whether there had been any
misuse or abuse of Social Security numbers.
The authorities reviewed
licenses held by both commercial and private
pilots and found that
some license applicants claimed to be medically
fit to fly an
airplane yet were simultaneously receiving
disability
benefits.
"The fraud and falsification allegedly
committed by these individuals
is extremely serious and adversely
affects the public interest in air
safety," said Nicholas Sabatini,
an associate administrator with the
Federal Aviation
Administration.
Charles H. Lee Jr., an assistant inspector
general for investigations
at the Department of Transportation, said
the reviewers first focused
their investigation on 48 pilots, most of
whom were receiving
disability payments for illnesses like paranoid
schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder and disabling heart
conditions.
One case, Mr. Lee said, even involved someone who
exhibited severe
suicidal tendencies.
"To get their
certificates, these people had to lie or falsify
paperwork," Mr. Lee
said. "The F.A.A. has rules and regulations
regarding medical
conditions and deemed that all 48 had medical
disabilities that would
have disqualified them from holding pilot
certificates."
Two
cases were dropped, Mr. Lee said, one because the pilot died.
He
declined to comment about whether similar investigations were
under
way in other states.
Of the 46 pilots that Mr. Lee said
were charged, 7 held commercial
pilot certificates that would have
allowed them to fly as well as
carry cargo; another 4 pilots held air
transportation pilot
certificates which would let them transport
passengers.
Of the remaining indicted pilots, 28 had private
pilot licenses, and 7
had student licenses.
A charge of lying
to the federal authorities carries a penalty of up
to five years in
prison and a $250,000 fine. A charge of falsifying
records carries a
penalty of up to one year in prison and a $100,000
fine.
According to court documents, the pilots who were
indicted failed to
provide accurate medical history forms, as
required by the F.A.A., in
some cases lying about a previous illness
or claiming that there had
been no previous medical diagnosis or
treatment for conditions that
the pilots knew they had.
Laura
Brown, a spokeswoman for the F.A.A., said that pilots could
obtain a
license only after they submit oral and written tests and
current
medical certificates. Those certificates can be issued only by
an
aviation medical examiner registered with the agency. Certain
medical
conditions would disqualify an applicant from receiving a
license.
"The reason we have disqualifying conditions is to ensure that
pilots
are not a danger to others, in the air or on the ground," Ms.
Brown
said.
Ms. Brown said that the pilots were charged with
either making false
statements to a federal official or delivering
to a federal official a
false written record. She added that 14 of
the pilots held active
pilot licenses, which were immediately
revoked.
The remaining pilots had licenses that had either lapsed
or were
missing current information, which would not prevent them
from flying
a private plane.
"It's similar to when people go
out and drive cars without a license,
or drive cars when
intoxicated," Ms. Brown said. "It's illegal but
they do
it."
At least one of the indicted pilots appeared in Federal
District Court
in Sacramento on Tuesday. The remaining pilots will be
arraigned
individually in the coming weeks.
--
Dave Leonard
Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/rotaryroster/index.html
http://members.aol.com/vp4skydoc/index.html
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